Expansion valve



Feb. 10, 1948.. c. R. ANDERSON EXPANS ION VALVE File@ oct. 21, 1943 ..5b 5.5,... mi :2:25

"kwis l CARL R.ANDERSON INVENTOR ,M /TTORNEYLC Patented Feb. 10, 1948 SION VALVlE Crl RIlAnd'rson. Dtroit, Mich., assignor to Air Products Incorporated, Detroit, Michl, a corpo'- Il This.. inventionrelates .tofexpansionvalves.: A In. the- .liquefaetion .andi fractionation of. air

andothermiXed gases itiSmuStOmaryto reduce-2.

the .pressure onwathighly compressed..or.liquefled. gas...by,paesing-, it. vthroughq .oricerto aaregion ofwlowerpressure.

In this expansion- .thewgasg--1-ifmerely-1highly.- compressedgis reduced-in f temperature the welll. known.. J enla-Thompson' efect...- If the lgas furthermreduetion ...ini-'temperature d-is-o -:casioned by. the.. conversion of.-` sensible-.tor latentp heat the .evaporation ofatheliquidatthe redi-110ed--pres-i.Y

Eures pressurereductiong. know-n :in the'industry 4as eX-.f parisien-Valves, operateeunderzvery diflicu-li'f.conf-A ditions.. The. pressures. carriedoare .very =hgh, often.. offthe'ordcr of 1.200. atmospheres: or-fmore,.

while the temperatures..reaehedfat. thepoint-of- 20. By Athesechangesl'have removed-.the..adjust. ing threads fromthecold end. of .thevalve to..

expansion. .are usually. very...1owl,..I of --the r order of 100o4 'to..2509 below fzerofcentigrade... InJ the .face of these :diicultiessuch valvesfmust be capable a of .minute regulation. and.' should:be-. completely f dependable. inffunctionf o 25 It has.been-thepractice heretofore-to 'use` for be remembered in.;th-is.connecton. thatwthe val-ve 30 bod-y..- is.. neeessarily,.:bured deeply 4in insulation and operates... at....avery -f low .Y temperature -1 while the .projecting,. ,stem.. and hand-wheel-fare exposed: to. the atmosphere, Between-theacold ,zone-dnl which the bodyfislocated and the-.-war1rnn zon-eof a 35. be .exemplaryonly.

detriment Lof. lits.` eiicieney.- asaa'mean-s of .pro-40 ducing refrigeration.

The valves now in use, having the stem .threads in the. body, haveioccasion'ed much trouble by reason of gallinaanreezigpfthese threads seems to'bmp'ossible"'tolubricate these threads] adequately at the extremely ,low` terriperattiresat-A tained 'by' 'the valve "body when' expanding 'jhi'gh pressure gases." Frther;Y the: unsupportedfpro- I have improved on the conventionalv formsV of Vexpansion valvelin. the -followingpartculars:

,l l) f :inremovingthe stemfthreads from .the ,valve bodyandplacingrthem ina separate .thread block...

liberallyspacedf-from the .body and inthe vwarm-V` endof the'assemblyg. (2). in placinga .thermal` break in-the --stem at. a. point .intermediatefthe so1.exparided.` has/.previously been.- 1iqueed a... mI body andthe threadedportionofthe stem;...(3)- in.v` attaching'..the thread.blocktotthe body by. am rigid .yoke -1 structure. whichfsupports ..tl1`el., outer endofhthe stemand ,prevents-sidestrains.; .(4)1 1 in .interposingathermal break `in...the..yoke struc-.,- T'heff.throttlingaorieesused .fom eectingath-is.. future :or .betWeen-..it.and-. the thread.Jblock;.v (55..

in.providing...a..yoke structure havinga veryflow relationship of. heat. conductivity: to. rigidity.; `(6)) in l providing ra.. stemgstructure having the. same .f

characteristics...v

a region.` of?substantially.atmospheric tempera-A ture, thus allowingor perfect lubrication, A.avoidassemblyfof .extreme :rigidity and, in..substa-ntial ly .segregating the V.warm end .fromfthe .cold end of 'the valve; have .materially increased its.. thermal.ciciency.`

Itwill be-.evidentlthatthe.above named im-. provements maybe .embodiedin valves of. diverse forms ...and proportions, .and Athe formr.illustrated..

inthe attached drawings will .be understoodiito In these drawings :r

Fig.: 1 is. a :longitudinal section. through. a fpre.

f erred form of) .the lvalve assembly, and

Fig.. 2 .-isasection andpartial elevation ..as,...on.

the line 2-,2 rof *.Fig. 1.`

Referring..4 to .ther drawings.,.the.. valve consiste;

operatively, ofthe. following main. elements:v an` l oriee blocker-Valve .body I0 having a .tubular-- orice II; asectionalvalvefstem.12A-IZB; a.y threadblock. I3; a-handwheel I4 .and a.yoke member I 5 -connectingand `spacing the `body..and

thethread. block.-

The section IZAof, the valve may have ataper.-

ing.:or otherend-.IB movable towardand away from loriice .I I vand .adapted .toopen and-.close the.-V jectingst'emtendsltswagefand loosen'tle stemH 50. orice. andadjust its .free area.. A seat for-stem packing I'I Iis formed in the body and the packing.,`

is adjusted` by., the usual glandiand nut..combi nation I8...-

v Y l 'ThesectionMIZBLof the stem is providedwith..y packinggmaythrovf'.ar'entire liquefyinglori'frac, 65 a .threaded`portion.l9- engaging...oorresponding.gv

.ting .the use .of closely. pitched. ne .threads for delicate-.adjustment-f. Ithave` also: produced. anf.

threads in the thread block. An oil cup or grease plug indicated at 20 should be provided to lubricate these threads. i

The two sections of the stem are connected by means of flanges 2| and 22 individually bolted to a thick ring or disc 23 of Bakelite or other solid material of a low orderof heat conductivity, as for example (but not for purposes of limitation) in the neighborhood of 1 B. t. u. per

hour per cubic foot per degree F. or less. Manyl low heat conductivity materials such as phenol formaldehyde resins and other plastics having low heat conductivities, e. g., 1/e B. t. u. per hour per cubic foot per degree F., are available and suitable. A thermal break of material having the lowest heat conductivity possible coupled with sufficient strength is, of course, preferred. These ystem and using the same metals in the two ends of the yoke as were used in the stem. Or, if preferred, a single metal or alloy having an intermediate expansion factor may be used for the yoke, the material being so selected as to comfianges are recessed as at 24 and 25 to clear theY Y heads of bolts 26 and 21. The recesses should be deep, enough that no part of the head projects into the opening through the flange, in order to reduce heat transmission by radiation to the lowest terms.

These bolts alternate in direction: bolts 25 are threaded into flange 22 and their heads bear only on the Bakelite ring and neither contact nor receive any material amount of radiated heat from fiange 2|, while bolts 21 are threaded into flange 2| only and neither contact nor receive any material amount of radiated heat from fiange 2?.. Thus each of the anges is in contact with only the relatively non-conductive material of the ring or disc and an effective thermal restriction or obstacle to heat transfer is provided in the stem between the body I and the stem threads i9.

Such an obstacle is referred to hereinafter as a thermal break, but it will be understood that this term does not connote a complete barrier to heat transmission, impossible to rea'ize in practice, but rather an obstacle which permits Ionly an insignificant amount of heat to pass.

The yoke member I is preferably formed by cutting away portions of the wall of a tube, as indicated at 30, to afford access to the stem packing nut and also to reduce the cross-sectional area of metal available for transmitting heat to the body. One end of the tube is rigidly attached to the valve body as at 28. A flange 29 afxed to or integral with the opposite end of the tube mates with a. flange 3| projected from the thread block. These flanges engage a thick ring or disc 32 of low heat conductivity material such as Bakelite and are .individually locked to it by means of bolts 33 and 34. These bolts, as above described, are alternated in direction so that each flange is clamped only to the slightly heat conductive member without metallic contact between the flanges. This provides a thermal break between the yoke member and the thread block.

The form of the yoke member is not critical and the yoke arms may be given any desired section. The arcuate section illustrated, produced by cutting away portions of the wall of a tube, vis preferred as affording a high degree of stiffness for a given cross section and a correspondingly high relation of rigidity to heat conductivity. Likewise, T-heads may be used in place of the anges described, with some sacrifice of rigidity. The thermal break may be placed at the body end of the yoke, or in a medial position, instead of in the position shown.

In order to permit the valve to maintain, unchanged, the rate of flow for which it has been adjusted, it is desirable to form the yoke arms and the valve stem of the same metal, or of two pensate the expansion and contraction of the stem over the temperature range encountered in use.

It is desirable, though not essential, to use for at least the cold ends of the stem and yoke an alloy, for example, stainless steel, having a relatively low order of heat conductivity, This step minimizes iiow into the valve body of atmospheric heat absorbed by the yoke and stem on the cold side of their respective thermal breaks.

A secondary but still important advantage of the almost complete insulation of the warm end `from the cold end of the valve assembly is found in the avoidance of condensation of water on the stem and hand-wheel. These valves are usually deeply buried in insulating material, which is materially reduced in effectiveness if allowed `to become wet, and it is impossible to exclude from such insulation the water condensed from the atmosphere by a cold valve stem. By keeping the projecting metallic parts warm, and therefore dry, both the effectiveness of the insulation and its appearance are preserved.

In actual construction, the valve assembly will usually be mounted on a control panel by means of a flange, now shown, affixed to thread block I3. This may be a radial extension of flange 3| or another flcnge independently projected from the thread block, as may be convenient.

Experience has shown that valves constructed according to the principles above described maintain the thread block and the warm end of the stem at a close approximation to the temperature of the atmosphere. even while the valve body is operating at a temperature substantially that of liquid nitrogen boiling at atmospheric pressure. In the use of such valves only minute quantities of heat are transmitted into the body and the efficiency of the valve as a means for producing refrigeration is close to the theoretical. Such valves have further proven to be absolutely dependable in operation and free from any of the drawbacks manifested by the expansion valves of the prior art.

I claim:

1. An expansion valve comprising a body having a flow passage therethrough, a sectional valve stem axially movable as a unit to control the ow through said passage, a thread block engaging a thread on said valve stem for producing said axial movement on change in the relative angular position of said stem andA block, an open yoke member and a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed between said body and said thread block and a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed besaid body and said thread block.

2. An expansion valve comprising a body having a ow passage therethrough, ya sectional valve stem arranged to control the flow through said passage, a thread block engaging threads on said valve stem, a frame member and a thermal break member of material having a low heat conductivity, means connecting said members together, said frame and thermal break members being interposed between said body and thread block, one of said members being connected to said thread block and the other of said members being connected to said body, and a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed between the sections of said stem at a point between said body and said thread block.

3. A valve for handling uids having a body adapted for location in a cold zone, comprising two sections adapted to extend from said cold Zone to a warm zone, a heat insulator between said sections, means connecting said insulator to one section and insulated thereby from the other section, and means connecting said insulator to said other section and insulated thereby from said first mentioned section.

4. In a valve comprising a body member, a yoke member, andA a thread block member, a thermal break of material having a low heat conductivity interposed between two of said members, means connecting said thermal break to one of said two members and insulated by said thermal break from the other of said two members, and means connecting said thermal break to the other of said two members and insulated by said thermal break from the rst of said two members.

5. An expansion valve for uid under high pressure and which upon expanding produces refrigeration, comprising a body having a flow passage therethrough for such fluid, a sectional valve stem movable in said body and arranged to control iiuid flow through said passage, a thread block engaging threads on said valve stem, an open yoke member positioning said thread block with respect to said body, sealing means between the valve stem and body whereby the escape of iiuid between the valve stem and body, which fluid would expand and cool the yoke and thread block, is prevented, a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed between said body and. said thread block and a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed between the sections of said stem at a point between said body and said thread block.

6. An expansionivalve comprising a body having a flow passage therethrough, a sectional valve stem axially movable as a unit to control the flow through said passage, a thread block engaging a thread on said valve stem for producing said axial movement on change in the relative angular position of said stem and block, an open yoke member including a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity connecting said body with said thread block, the portion of said yoke member situated between said thermal break and said body being formed of a metal having a heat conductivity not substantially exceeding 0.06 small calorie per second per centimeter cube per degree centigrade, and a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed between sections of said stem at a point between said body and said block.

7. An expansion valve comprising a body having a flow passage therethrough, a sectional valve stem axially movable as a unit to control the flow through said passage, a thread block engaging a thread on said valve stem for producing said axial movement on change in the relative angular position of said stem and block, an open yoke member including a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity connecting said body with said thread block, and a thermal break of material of low heat conductivity interposed between sections of said stem at a point between said body and said thread block, the portion of said stem between the thermal break therein and said body being formed of a metal having a heat conductivity not substantially exceeding 0.06 small calorie per second per centimeter cube per degree centigrade.

8. In an expansion valve adapted for use with highly compressed gaseous refrigerants and operating at an extreme temperature difference between the body end and the actuating end: a body member having a ow orifice formed therein; a thread block; a stem threaded into said block and extending into said body to vary the effective area of said orice; yoke arms positioning said thread block with respect to said orice, and thermal breaks interposed in said arms and said stem, said arms and said stem being of materials selected to cause said arms and said stem to expand and contract equally with equal change in temperature, thereby avoiding spontaneous changes in said effective orice area.

CARL R. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,619,335 Donnelly Mar. 1, 1927 1,875,511 Shivers Sept. 11, 1932 2,209,216 Wile July 23, 1940 2,259,280 Wile Oct. 14, 1941 2,153,819 Van Vorhees Apr. 11, 1939 1,987,948 Smith Jan. 15, 1935 1,828,478 Sparks Oct. 20, 1931 1,727,693 Beyer Sept. 10, 1929 

